American Buffalo

THREE HOURS NORTH OF SANTA FE, on the border of Colorado, lies 550,000 of re-wilded lands that are home to the purest bison in America. Vermejo Reserve is dedicated to their preservation. On the ranches, the bison are left alone to graze on grass year-round, doing pretty much what they did 100 years ago. Vermejo is also home to elk, pronghorn, black bear, beaver and mountain lion, all managed in an Eden- like ecosytem. The Preserve is owned by media entrepreneur Ted Turner, who rescued it from Pennzoil 25 years ago. To keep the herds of bison and elk sustainable, some are used for meat. I can hear you already: Oh, so the wealthy founder of CNN has some playground where they hunt bison? Well, it turns out Ted Turner is quite a bit different than most media moguls. At age nine, after reading a National Geographic article, he decided that he wanted to save the bison. He asked his dad how and his dad told him he’d need to make a lot of money. Check. Next, his mentor Jacques Cousteau encouraged him to continue on the path of becoming a dedicated environmentalist and philanthropist. Check. Now at Vermejo, he’s doing something that has never been done before – bringing back bison on a massive scale. Turner’s grandson, Robert, now manages the herds. He started out as a wildlife guide and couldn’t be more perfect for the bison job. A powerful, gentle man, he actually could be a bison in human form. Robert has one goal at Vermejo: To get people out in these beautiful environments. Then he believes they’ll be transformed, and when they go home, they’ll be inspired to care for the earth and will make different, better decisions.